Underdog
Underdog is the main character of his self-titled animated television series, which aired on NBC from 1964 to 1973, with 124 episodes. Normally a humble and lovable fellow named Shoeshine Boy, the character transforms into his heroic alter ego whenever his love interest, Sweet Polly Purebred, has been victimized; Underdog generally must foil the schemes of various villains, such as Simon Bar Sinister or Riff Raff, in order to save her. All of his dialogue on the show, with few exceptions, is in rhyming couplets. History with the Macy's Parade A Year after his Tv show started Underdog first appeared in Macy's Parade as balloon in 1965, and was accompanied by an Underdog float for his debut. Like many balloons from this time period, he became an instant classic and flew for many more years even though his TV Show ended in 1973. The Superhero Canine was retired in 1984, and made 20 parade appearances overall. Over time, the balloon deteriorated beyond repair, but his signature "U" still exists and is framed in Macy's Parade Studio. While no new Underdog balloon has been made for the parade, due to several conflicts with Classic Media, it made a couple of appearances in outside pop culture. In 1994, the first Thanksgiving-themed episode of NBC's sitcom Friends centered around the accidental release of the Underdog balloon, which caused everyone to go to the roof to watch and get locked out of the apartment. Underdog also appeared in a 2008 CGI ad for Coca-Cola, where he chases a Coke bottle-shaped balloon through New York City, along with a balloon of Stewie Griffin from Family Guy, a show that was never actually represented in the parade. A walk-around version of Underdog appeared on the "75th Parade Superstars" float, along with other characters who had balloons that had been retired, such as Popeye, Kermit the Frog, and Ice Skating Snoopy. Accidents * High winds affected the 1975 Parade. Because of this, wind gusts coming off of the roofs of skyscrapers caused handlers to lose control of the Underdog balloon, sending him crashing into a streetlight tearing off his right ear,after this his forehead and right ear were deflating in the progress. Because of this, he was removed from the Parade, alongside Astronaut Snoopy and the Weeble balloons. * In the 1976 parade, Underdog's right hand and left leg were punctured from lampposts around Time Square * In the 1978 parade, Underdog's right ear and left finger was deflated. * In the 1984 parade, Underdog's right finger was little bit deflated. Gallery Detroit-tv-magazine-guide-november-20 1 c3b518f33ff43e31fd1ec8bf0f34cc69.jpg|The Underdog Balloon's Test Flight 1965-macys-dept-store-parade-underdog 1 97a77dfe1f2d85d1da800c4a74642cf5.jpg|The Underdog Balloon's Test Flight Underdog-Parade-balloon.jpg|The Underdog Balloon's Test Flight Underdog1965.jpg|Underdog Balloon in the 1965 Parade B0F37C08-1685-46C7-AFDB-C4076ADD9378.jpeg|Underdog Balloon in the 1965 Parade macys-underdog-balloon-debuts-in-1965s-parade.jpg|Underdog in the 1966 Parade 15026142787_2f84403203_m.jpg|The Underdog Balloon in 1972 Underdog 1972.jpg|The Underdog Balloon in 1972 162430330 ct-photo-ajn-490-macys-thanksgiving-day-parade-new-york-.jpg|Underdog and Sinclair Oil Dinosaur in the 1972 Parade 0F146401-2240-4C94-8EE2-F644F91D1CC9.jpeg|Underdog Balloon in the 1972 Parade E191D697-D26E-474F-A5CC-95C196DB1CA0.jpeg|Underdog Balloon in the 1973 Parade Underdog-and-smokey-77th-st-1975.jpg|Underdog and Smokey in the 1975 Parade 8FEF79AD-9AA4-4428-92C5-C6072C763A5E.jpeg|Underdog was hit by trees, losing his right ear and helium in his forehead. 0305011953-l.jpg|Underdog in Preparation for the 1976 Parade 7568658686856864.png|Underdog Balloon in the 1977 Parade A2724DD7-DC2E-47AE-863C-78D4F4F4C387.jpeg|Underdog Balloon in the 1978 Parade BALL 15-564x728.jpg|Underdog Balloon in the 1978 Parade NBC2908.PNG|Underdog and Kermit the Frog before the 1979 Parade DFD839DE-83D5-419B-BF20-F1DCB3C8D703.jpeg|Underdog Balloon Behind Tom Turkey in the 1979 Parade 801DE830-9DDC-4410-84E2-70221F43ADCC.jpeg|Underdog, Kermit and Smokey in the 1979 Parade F541DA91-065D-4E6D-9030-A4D009889CF6.jpeg|Underdog Balloon in the 1980 Parade F75B0A62-9AD0-4614-93CC-D30AFB4DEC0A.jpeg|Underdog Balloon in the 1980 Parade 9F6AB632-7B4D-4405-8DBF-19A75280A0C2.jpeg|Underdog and Bullwinkle in the 1980 Parade Underdog 1981.PNG|Underdog in the 1981 Parade C11CE5D1-C4DE-48DA-BA19-B188375FAB37.jpeg|Underdog Balloon in the 1981 Parade E3504D1C-21DA-447B-A27F-223D1E42CC33.jpeg|Underdog Balloon in the 1981 Parade 74424277-EB87-4448-8181-ED3A7E32A9FC.jpeg|Underdog Balloon in the 1981 Parade 1925292 862957790403078 2112610698642214711 n.png|Underdog Balloon in the 1981 Parade 10397833 798168203548704 8416702693010634701 n.jpg|The 1st cameo of Underdog in Broadway Diana Ross 454543543.PNG|Underdog and the magic carousel in 1982 7E3559CF-EE60-4EA7-8215-F6F15D7A540E.jpeg|Underdog Balloon in the 1982 Parade CA88AA9D-D3EE-4BFA-9DA9-A74161AC5058.jpeg|Underdog Balloon in the 1983 Parade 140992689-1417054315.jpg|Underdog Balloon in the 1983 Parade E0F8CAD8-6A72-4C82-8974-542CA59D8432.jpeg|Underdog Balloon in the 1984 Parade Underdog.jpg|The Underdog balloon in 1984 Parade 83F4B1E3-493D-419E-A493-2ADE2305AE45.jpeg|Underdog Balloon in the 1984 Parade Category:Macy's Balloon Characters Category:Dogs Category:Cartoon Characters Category:1965 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Category:Retired Balloons Category:First Balloon in the Parade Category:Second Balloon in the Parade Category:Non-First Balloon in the Parade Category:Last Balloon in the Parade Category:Balloons that were in a accident Category:60s Balloons